The GAA's Games Administration Committee (GAC) yesterday issued a stern reminder that teams are still subject to a maximum of 20 players despite the Munster Council's decision not to penalise Cork for using six different substitutes in last Sunday's Munster football final. Ian O'Riordan reports

The GAC will also seek clarification on the rule regarding temporary player replacements following the Munster Council's verdict that such temporary replacements do not count in the legal use of five ordinary substitutes.

However, the Munster Council's decision has baffled the Kildare County Board, who earlier this year were forced to accept the GAC's decision to deduct the point earned in a draw with Sligo in the National Football League last February because of a similar breach in the substitution rule.

After a lengthy meeting in Limerick on Tuesday night, the GAC of the Munster Council ruled that Cork had exceeded the maximum of 20 players by introducing one temporary replacement (a blood substitute) in addition to their five ordinary substitutes during their 19-point win over Tipperary.

While Cork admitted to that inadvertent error, the council also ruled that the penalty of forfeiture of the game only applied when a team exceeded the number of ordinary substitutions.

"I do think Central Council will have to look at this rule in due course," said GAC chairman Pauric Duffy yesterday. "Obviously the Munster Council have taken a different view on this matter. And that's fair enough. They reached their decision and that's their right. But I think Central Council will have to clarify the matter. I don't see a definitive answer coming out in the short term.

"In the meantime, though, I want to make it clear that the 20-player limit still applies. We have four big games this weekend and it would be very dangerous for any team to go above the 20 players because there's certainly no guarantee the GAC would take the same view on the use of temporary substitutes."

Fr Seamus Gardiner, the official spokesperson for the Munster Council, yesterday outlined the reasons behind the decision not to penalise Cork. "It was found that there was no specific penalty for the breach that Cork had admitted to," he said.

"All the talk since the match on Sunday was rule 109. When you read that rule it states that the forfeiture of game is for any breaches for rule 2.4. But rule 2.4 only refers to ordinary substitutions.

"This temporary blood substitute comes under 1.5, and there is no penalty there. Maybe it should be under 109 as well, and when the blood rule was brought in they should have put a penalty with it. Cork admitted that they had breached the rule, but then they asked where is the penalty, and there is no penalty in the rule book as of now.

"I don't know anything about the Kildare case or how it was argued, but when we looked at it, we couldn't find a penalty, and therefore we couldn't impose one."

Fr Gardiner also pointed to the important input from Tipperary's Munster Council representative Michael Power, who stated that they had no interest in being awarded the game, or seeking a replay.

"There was some talk of a possible fine as well but I don't know where that came from. That wouldn't be consistent. If you weren't going to remove the game then there wasn't going to be any penalty. There are a lot of breaches of rules that carry very specific penalties, with fines or whatever. But there was nothing down for this."

Reacting to the decision, Kildare county secretary Richie Whelan expressed clear disappointment that their case earlier in the year had been decided so differently. "It was exactly the same as the one in Cork last Sunday," he said. "As far as we concerned there was no loophole, at least not one we were allowed to use.

"At the time it was a huge blow to our league campaign. We're mystified now as to how the same rules can be interpreted for different counties. We'd like to know why there wasn't a consistent ruling on it, whichever way it's going to be."

The investigation into the Kildare-Sligo match was carried out by a three-man sub-committee of the national GAC, ironically headed by Cork representative Bob Honohan.

"It was actually Bob Honohan would not allow us any way out," added Whelan. "He said the rules were black and white. He told us it's five substitutes allowed after your 15 players. It was 20 players in any one match, and that's clearcut. So obviously there are different rules for Cork than there are for Kildare.

"We used three temporary blood substitutes but we ended up in exactly the same situation, using six different players instead of five.

"But it's like, if you want to find a way around these things then you find a way around them."